Pierce Atwood successfully defended the trustee of two trusts established for distribution of the estate of the beneficiaries’ father. Plaintiff beneficiary of the trusts sued her co-beneficiary (the trustee) for an accounting, alleging that the trustee had wrongfully withheld distribution of assets. We moved to dismiss the complaint on statute of limitations grounds based on the pleadings and record testimony taken in a prior bankruptcy proceeding involving the plaintiff, which showed that the plaintiff’s interest in the trusts had terminated nearly 10 years ago.

In 2016, Pierce Atwood partner John Bulman successfully mediated a six-party case pending in federal court.  The matter involved a dispute between a publicly traded company and former board members and officers.  The allegations included claims of breach of fiduciary duty, gender discrimination, theft of intellectual property and whistleblower claims.  Three insurance policies were in play and after two days of mediation and some follow up, the matter settled.

We defended a general contractor’s surety in a multimillion dollar case involving failed concrete panels in a water treatment plant in Vermont. The matter was resolved without trial.

Served as lead appellate counsel for multinational busing company successfully reversing administrative tax ruling.

Counsel for Time Warner Cable in successful defense of federal court copyright infringement claims concerning alleged unauthorized transmission of 137 television shows and seeking maximum statutory damages and attorneys' fees. Obtained summary judgment dismissing complaint on grounds that transmissions were not to the public under applicable copyright and FCC retransmission consent rules.

Defended a utility company against contract and tort claims.

Representation of Verso Corporation in antitrust and employment litigation arising out of the closure and sale of Verso's paper mill in Bucksport, Maine.

We represented a minority shareholder in Major World, New York City’s largest used car dealership. Our client brought suit against Major World and its directors and officers for breach of fiduciary duty in bringing about a going-private buyout at an exceedingly low price. The case has an unusual cast of characters, including a movie producer and a federal prisoner. The defendants tried repeatedly to slow the process and move for dismissal on a variety of specious grounds. Pierce Atwood prevailed at every turn, with the defendants and all their outside directors bearing the burden of proving that the transaction was entirely fair to minority shareholders. The court also held that the controlling stockholder’s brother can even be found liable for aiding and abetting – a cause of action we did not even plead. The stage is now set for mediation, which will also include a large D&O insurance carrier.

We recently represented a Maine-based retailer in a case alleging overtime violations under the Fair Labor Standards Act and analogous state statutes.  Plaintiffs claimed that our client’s store managers located in Maine and other states were misclassified as exempt employees, and that they should have received premium pay for overtime hours worked.  After an initial investigation, we were able to negotiate a favorable settlement that was approved by a New York state court.

We successfully defended a private equity firm in a class action matter relating to putative WARN Act violations by its investment, a now defunct toy retailer.

In a favorable decision for our client, Maine Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy refused to grant the State Tax Assessor’s motion to compel deposition testimony relating to the taxpayer’s tax accrual (FIN 48) work papers and related documents. State Tax Assessor v. Kraft Foods Group, Inc. et al, BCD-AP-16-02 (Business & Consumer Ct., Jun. 7, 2017, Murphy, J.). Justice Murphy sits on the Business and Consumer Court (a division of the Superior Court), which hears most tax cases in Maine.